The public school is a miniature democracy. It is free and open to all. Its pupils have equal privileges and equal responsibilities. It makes no distinction of race, creed, or wealth. The children of rich and poor parents sit side by side and are given the same opportunities. Every pupil who enrolls in a public school gets the same start and his advancement depends upon his own efforts. In the course of time some will lead and others fall behind, just as men and women do in the outside world. Wherever individuals, young or old, are gathered together, some will forge ahead of the rest by virtue of their natural ability, their superior industry, or their qualities of leadership. School experience should impress this great fact of democratic life upon every pupil’s mind. The pupil who imagines that he can be regularly behind in his studies, neglectful of his opportunities, unable to command the respect of his teachers or his fellows in the school, and yet hope to become a leader in the outside world is making a grave mistake. It is not thus that the leaders of men are trained. The useful citizen does not become so in a day or a year. He begins to develop his qualities while he is young.[22] =Training for Citizenship on the Playground.=—Recreation and play, when properly carried on, afford not only exercise and amusement, but education as well. Some useful lessons which cannot well be taught in the class-room are learned by participation in organized athletics. Everyone realizes, for example, that play in which there is no leadership, no observance of rules, and no system, is a very poor sort of play. It may give physical exercise in plenty, yet it satisfies nobody. Anarchy on the playground is no more satisfying than anarchy in any other branch of human activity. Hence, whenever a group of young men or young women go to the athletic field, their first step is to organize into teams or sides. Each team has its captain whose directions are to be obeyed, not because he is an autocrat, but because the team cannot hope to win unless it is provided with leadership. When play begins it is conducted according to rules which everyone is supposed to know and observe. If the contest is important, an umpire is selected to act as arbitrator on questions involving an infraction of the rules. Now all this is merely _government_ on a small scale. The element of leadership, the team-play, the rules, the practice of obeying the umpire—these things should suggest to us that officials, laws, government, and courts also make for the best interests of the individual in the great interplay of life. [Sidenote: The spirit that rules the playground.]